San Agustin Group

The San Agustín communal bank is comprised of six women who live in a town called Coapilla. In this town they celebrate the Fiesta of the Blessed Virgen of Candelaria, the patron saint of the town.

Emily was interviewed. She is married to Máximo, and they have three married children.

She is requesting the loan to buy jewelry for her customers’ personal use. She will buy things like necklaces and bracelets, among others. She has been working for two years and four months. She says that it is going well for her because, through her business, she has been getting income for her household.

She started this business activity in order to support her husband with the household income. He works in the field, and with her support they are not limited by the expenses their household generates. What she wishes is that with her small business activity she will ge able to continue getting ahead as long as God grants her life.

The members of the group are:
Consuelo, who will buy supplies for her stationery business.
Julia, who will buy corn and rice in order to sell it by the kilo.
Esperanza, who will buy farm-raised chickens to butcher and sell.
María del Carmen, who will buy the ingredients to make bread.
María Antonio, who will buy fruit and vegetables.

Additional Information

This is a Group Loan

In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a larger group of individuals. The group is there to provide support to the members and to provide a system of peer pressure, but groups may or may not be formally bound by a group guarantee. In cases where there is a group guarantee, members of the group are responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members in the case of delinquency or default.

Kiva's Field Partners typically feature one borrower from a group. The loan description, sector, and other attributes for a group loan profile are determined by the featured borrower's loan. The other members of the group are not required to use their loans for the same purpose.